Being a Swedish Freak is Genetic

I never realized that being a Swedish Freak would be genetic. But apparently it is.

In December I was in Phoenix visiting my grandparents. Because I have been living overseas the last 10 years, I hadn’t seen them in a really long time. So of course there was tons to talk about, and a lot to catch up. Surprisingly we spoke mostly about Sweden, and ended up cooking Lussebullar for Lucia. Yes, they are Swedish Freaks too!

It all started with an exchange student from Sweden… They fast became friends with the exchange student, kept in touch, and one day took a visit of a life time over to Sweden.

I got the chance to view the entire album, and see Sweden from a whole new perspective – from the 80s, from my grandparents eyes!

They got to see not only Stockholm and Malmö, but also made their way up to Norrland as well (and on a helicopter no less!)

The perfect time to go to Sweden? Well, midsummer of course! There were great photos of them building and putting up the maypole.

Even more interesting was the exchange receipt they received for $100. I’m surprised that the exchange rate hasn’t changed that much. 1 USD is 6.3 SEK nowadays. Back then? 6.0 SEK.

It was simply beautiful to hear their side of the Sweden, and to know how much they still love it today. They love it so much and appreciate the coffee there that they special order Swedish coffee. I totally get that!

So we drank lots and lots of Swedish coffee. It was really nice to have real Swedish coffee again, and they knew how to make it as well!

Because it was Lucia while I was there, I of course baked some lussebullar for them 🙂 Which they loved, and even froze some to keep for later.

It was funny, because while I was in the kitchen, I noticed a special egg whipper. We have

these in Sweden, it is a stable for the kitchen. If you don’t have one, it is kinda like not having a spatula. It took me a minute to realize that this was something that is not usually in American kitchens!

So when I did finally ask them about it, I was correct! A gift from a Swedish friend of theirs, so they could properly whip eggs. Love it! (Now I’m informed you can get them in the US. IKEA perhaps?)

After spending a few days with my grandparents, and realizing they are also Swedish Freaks, I have concluded that it must be genetic. Maybe we have some Swedish roots somewhere? That is yet to be seen, but we are on the search. All we know right now is that we are very, very fond of Sweden.

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The Author

SwedishFreak

Hilary lived two years in Norrland, Sweden (Northern Sweden) and fell in love with the country. While she now lives in a place that is the complete opposite of Sweden (Arizona), she constantly tries to bring Sweden to the desert.